472 
DEATH OF THREE HEIFERS. 
celandine, or pilewort). No other plants likely to prove in¬ 
jurious to animals could be found. 
“ Taking into consideration, therefore, the symptoms pre¬ 
sented by the animals, together with the post-mortem ap¬ 
pearances, and the unusual large quantities of the Ranunculus 
ficaria found in the pasture, I have every reason to believe 
that this plant was the cause of death in the animals in ques¬ 
tion. It may be asked why a similar circumstance has not 
occurred before, when animals have been kept in this par¬ 
ticular field ? I think their escape may in a great degree be 
accounted for, as the person who had attended to the stock 
for many years informed me that these heifers had been kept 
for a fortnight or three weeks longer in the pasture than any 
others had been in former years, previously to its being 
‘shut up' for mowing, and therefore they were there at the 
time during which this plant attains its greatest luxuriance. 
“To avoid accidents of this sort in future I would recommend 
the animals to be removed from the pasture earlier in the 
spring. I may also state that this plant, like many other of 
the Ranunculus tribe loose their irritant properties when made 
into hay." 
[Sowerby, in his ‘English Botany,’ says that the specific 
name— -ficaria —has reference to the shape of the roots of this 
Ranunculus, which are somewhat like little figs. Its acrid pro¬ 
perty has led to its use as a stimulant plaster for some forms 
of external humours; hence one of its popular names. As 
the celandine, its praises have been sung by modern poets. 
Wordsworth has referred to it as “the little humble celandine." 
The tiny tubers of the roots are often exposed to view by the 
washing of contiguous streams, or by rain, and then they 
look somewhat like grains of wheat; this appearance has 
given rise to the assertion that it has “ rained wheat." The 
young leaves of this plant are boiled by the common people 
in some parts of Sweden, and eaten with safety. It appears 
that the deleterious properties of the whole group may be 
dissipated by the application ofheat. It is injurious to moist 
grass land, but it is said to be effectually destroyed by a 
dressing of coal or wood ashes. The flow'er loves the sun¬ 
shine and light. We generally find it closed from about five 
in the evening until nine in the morning, and also during wet 
or very gloomy weather. Its Celtic name, grian (the sun), 
refers to this point in its history.] 
